Can You Cook?

English: Native men cooking fish on a wooden frame over a fire. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Michael Pollan offers some sound advice on how to solve the obesity problem with it concomitant problems.  I don’t know if this simply would solve the problem; it could  help, but the food supply needs to be overhauled and attitudes need to change if that is possible with Big Ag calling the shots. People can still buy the packaged, boxed “food” and cook it at home for convenience which doesn’t come close to cooking “real” foods that are not processed and full of sugar, salt and fat.

CLICK HERE

Please read a previous post called Back to the Kitchen?

Within that post is a link to “Teach Your Kids to Cook”.  Added to the problem is that  it is estimated that 28% of Americans cannot cook. This is not surprising in this era of fast foods, take-out foods, and convenience processed foods.  A new survey finds that eating at home is one of the surest ways to help you eat healthier.  But in the same survey of 1087 people, 28% of Americans said they don’t know how to cook.  What are their reasons?

• More than half of them said a spouse or partner does the cooking.
• 25% said they hate cleaning up the kitchen afterward.
• 21% say they don’t have the time.
• 65% say that going to the supermarket was too time consuming.

What does this say about our society?  We watch cooking shows by the hours and we have become cooking-watchers, not participators. We are food-obsessed but are not in control of our food choices.  How did this happen?  Have we lost our cooking gene?

We have known for quite a while that food preparation and purchasing skills have been stripped from school curricula – what ever happened to home economics?  But is this enough?  Children need to learn proper cooking skills starting in elementary schools and learning where our food comes from.  Generations of adults have already left education without learning to cook at school or at home and now think that all food comes in a package.  It’s no wonder that we’re unhealthy and a lot of us are overweight.

If you are cooking challenged:

• Start simple- buy a cookbook that uses only 3-5 ingredients.
• Read magazines such as Real Simple that usually promote simple meals.
• Shop with a list to cut down supermarket time.
• Cook one-pot meals to cut down kitchen cleanup.
• Attend cooking demonstrations – they’re fun and you get to sample real foods.

Bon appétit!!!

Diet and Telomeres- A Connection?

Telomere (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am teaching a graduate course this summer called Geriatric Nutrition.    The definition for
geriatric is:

“of or relating to old people, esp. with regard to their health care”

      Whenever I teach a course, I learn something.  One thing was “What is Old?”   The current classification I found is specific:·

• Persons Approaching Old Age = 55 – 64 years·
• Young Old
• = 65-74·
• Old = 75 – 84·
• Oldest- old= Older than 85

Another thing I learned is the association between diet and aging. In the course, we examine the Theories of Aging.  One theory that is most fascinating to me the
Telomeric Theory.

Telomeres are sections of DNA at the ends of our chromosomes.  They protect the rest of your DNA every time a cell divides.  When a cell divides, all
of the DNA cannot be copied and so a little gets cut off.

Researchers have shown that older people have shorter telomeres.
Eventually, the cells with shorter telomeres can no longer divide and, over
time tissue damage and the dreaded “signs of aging” can begin. Most cells can
replicate about 50 times before the telomeres are too short.  Interestingly, cancer cells show a morality that normal cells do not.  Cancer cells do not die for one thing because they switch on an enzyme called telomerase, which adds to the telomeres when cells divide. Some cells in the body can also do this (stem cells and sperm cells, for example) because they need to replicate more than 50 times in your lifetime.

I would not have suspected that diet or nutrition would affect this
process, but in searching found that there are several studies that support
this idea.

The first study involved omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers measured the length
of leukocyte telomere length after five years in 608 patients with stabilized
coronary heart disease. Then they compared the baseline levels of omega-3 fatty
acids and the telomere length at the end of the study.

The hypothesis of the study was that since omega-3 fatty acids influence
or increase the levels of some important antioxidant enzymes in the body
(superoxide dismutase and catalase), it may also influence the presence of
teloramase which is responsible for adding DNA to the chromosome during
replication.

The conclusion from this study was that “a daily supplementation of
omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a significant increase in  telomerase activity.”

 Farzaneh-Far R et al.  Association of Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid
Levels with Telomeric Aging in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease. JAMA 2010;303:250-7.

The next study involved Vitamin D.  Leukocyte telomere length was shorter in 2,
160 women (average age of 49) with lower levels of vitamin D.   Telomere length was negatively correlated with C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation and positively correlated with vitamin D, in other words, higher vitamin D levels are associated with longer leucocyte telomere length.

Richards, JB et al. Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women.  Am. J Clin. Nutr. 2007;86:1420-5.

The third study in 2010 analyzed data from 2,294 women who were part of the Nurses Health Study. They evaluated blood samples and compared dietary components from self-reported questionnaires in 1990. They found that women with the highest intakes of whole grains containing primarily insoluble fiber had the longest telomeres. Additionally, those women with the highest intake of linoleic acid, primarily from corn, safflower and soy oils as well as women with higher waist circumferences had the shortest telomeres.  The conclusion was that waist circumference and polyunsaturated fatty intake were negatively associated and dietary fiber as cereal fiber was positively associated with leukocyte telomere length. They found no association between telomere length and smoking, physical activity or postmenopausal hormone use.

Cassidy A et al.
Associations between diet, lifestyle factors and telomere length in
women. Am.J. Clin Nutr. 2010;92:1273-80.

Most of the authors of all three studies conclude that oxidative stress and inflammation affects telomere shortening and that diet can affect both these processes. As with all nutrition studies, further research is warranted.

The Red Tear Hypothesis

We got our dog, Kori from a shelter two years ago and as many little white dogs do, she had the proverbial red tear stains under her eyes as shown in the top picture.  I searched and searched the Internet for products to use, asked the vet, and nothing I tried seem to work very well.  I began to think we all would just have to live with it – there are worse things, you know.

A few years ago, when the big pet food scare was killing our pets  due to some errant ingredient from China, I began to make our Bulldog’s food from scratch so not to  worry about the latest dog food recall that seemed to happen every day. So I had some experience being a dog chef.

Kori is a very discriminating eater; no dog food I tried was acceptable.  I had no way of knowing what kind of food she had been fed by her previous owners. So again, in desperation, I began to cook her food as I had done before with the Bulldog.

Her typical foods include:

• Ground beef (round) or ground turkey
• Long grain rice (not highly processed), but real rice. Sometimes I use brown rice.
• No salt added green beans or no salt added carrots. (canned and chopped)
• We add some low sodium chicken broth during cooking as well as just before serving.  I heat it briefly (about 15 sec) in the microwave. Then we put it in the freezer in small containers.
• Additionally, she gets chicken tenders poached in some water for about 30 minutes.  We cut one tender up in very small pieces at each meal (she gets  breakfast and dinner).
• And that is it!!!  I give her powdered vitamins and minerals as well as some probiotics sprinkled on her food.

Here’s the POINT!  I suddenly noticed after a few months of this diet that her red tearing eyes were gone as shown in the lower picture.  My hypothesis?  Here it is:

Giving my dog whole, real, natural food instead of processed dog foods with a long list of ingredients has cured her red tears.  I can’t prove it, so it remains a hypothesis.

This led me to think about what our myriad of processed foods with their long ingredient lists are subtly doing to our own bodies.  Granted, we don’t have the red tear problem, but we just don’t know how some of these foods (as well as GM ingredients) are affecting our health in the long run.  Just food for thought!!

Related articles

• Not good enough for dog food: Food from China Has chemicals, dyes, pesticides and fake ingredients

Low-carbohydrate Diets – It’s Not Just Weight Loss

Cholesterol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A recent clinical trial compared a low-carb diet with a low-fat diet and supports other research that has found that these two diet approaches result in similar weight loss after two years. In this trial, 307 overweight and obese participants were randomly assigned to one of the two diets:  the low fat diet restricted calories to 1200-1500 and 1500 to 1800 calories for women and men respectively.  The diet included about 55% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 15% protein.  The low carbohydrate diet restricted carbohydrates to 20 grams a day for 12 weeks, then increased 5 grams a week.  They were allowed to eat as much fat and protein as they wanted.

The participants weighed at the start an average of 227 pounds with a mean body mass index of 36.  At one year the average weight loss was 24 pounds, but after two years decreased to 15 pounds due to participants gaining back some of the lost weight.

But wait, diets should not be just about weight loss.  There are differences in health benefits between these two weight loss approaches.  First of all, the low-carb diet lowered blood pressure, triglycerides and VLDL cholesterol early in the study, which evened out with both diets after two years.  However, the big payoff was that HDL cholesterol (healthy) increased considerably in the low carb diet versus the low fat.  After two years, the increase was 23% in the low-carb group compared to 12% in the low-fat group.  Also after two years, total cholesterol was reduced slightly in the low-carb group. Other recent research suggests to further boost the heart benefits is to substitute some of the meat protein in a lower-carb diet with some vegetable protein.

On a personal note:  When I began a carbohydrate-restricted diet a couple of years ago, my “good” HDL cholesterol increased from a respectable level in the low 60 mg/dl range to an astounding 90 mg/dl range and remains there.  I was impressed.

Please consult your doctor before trying any new dietary approach – one diet  does not fit all.  Your entire lipid profile should be considered, i.e., your total cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, so a low-fat diet may be more beneficial to you.

What About Magnesium?

food sources of magnesium: bran muffins, pumpkin seeds, barley, buckwheat flour, low-fat vanilla yogurt, trail mix, halibut steaks, garbanzo beans, lima beans, soybeans, and spinach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I took nutrition courses, I don’t remember  learning much about magnesium.  When I taught nutrition courses, I was as guilty as my professors by not paying too much attention to this important mineral.

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body.  About half resides in the bones and the other half is contained in the cells.

One percent is found in the blood and highly regulated and maintained. Magnesium is involved in about 300 enzyme reactions.  It is needed for the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, and fat, muscle and nerve function, healthy bones and a regular heartbeat.

How much do you need?

·      Women aged 19-30 need 310 mg/day

·      Men aged 19-30 need 400 mg/day

·      Women 31 and over need 410 mg/day

·      Men 31 and over need 420 mg/day

On average, females consume only about 70% and most males consume about 80% of these daily needs.

Food Sources

Whole grains:  Whole-wheat pita = 44 mg.

Vegetables: 2 cups of spinach = 47 mg.

Fruits: 1 banana = 37 mg.

Dairy: 1 cup of yogurt 27 mg.

Nuts: 2 tablespoons peanut butter = 49 mg.; 1 oz. almonds = 81 mg.

Eating these foods will provide over half of your daily needs. Milk, meat and eggs are also good sources.  Refined grains are poor sources since the germ of the grain is removed during processing.

Taking supplements may have some drawbacks – consuming large amounts may cause diarrhea, cramps and nausea. Because of this, the upper level from supplements is set at 350 mg for adults.

Deficiencies are rare since the kidneys compensate for low magnesium intake by excreting less of it.  Deficiencies may occur due to medications such as diuretics and some antibiotics.

Are there potential health benefits?  The research suggests:

·       Reduced risk for type 2 diabetes.  Magnesium plays a large role in carbohydrate metabolism and may influence the release and activity of insulin.  Low levels of magnesium are common in diabetics and may also contribute to insulin resistance.

·       Maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. A diet that’s high in fruits and vegetables, both of which are good sources of magnesium, has consistently been shown to lower blood pressure.  Studies with the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) have confirmed this effect.

·       Reduced risk for coronary artery disease.  Several studies have suggested higher levels of magnesium to lower risk for coronary artery disease, leading to heart attacks and strokes. There is also evidence that getting enough magnesium will help to prevent heart arrhythmia.  In a recent study, researchers measured the magnesium levels of 7,664 healthy adults using urine tests.  The participants were then followed for 10.5 years to assess the incidence of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Those people with the lowest urinary levels of magnesium were 70 percent more likely to die from IHD when compared to those with higher levels.  The authors concluded that magnesium levels are an independent risk factor  for IHD.   (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2013).

Some Tips on Getting Enough Magnesium

·       Spread peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers for a snack.

·       Add black beans to salsa for a veggie dip.

·       Add baby spinach to a salad.

·       Sprinkle chopped almonds on whole grain cereal in the morning.

 

Healthy Foods?

A good slideshow on some often- claimed- as -healthy foods.  Beware of claims such as low-fat (watch for sugar), omega-3, light, and my favorite — MULTIGRAIN which appears on just about any food label these days.  It’s smart to read the ingredient list as well to get the real picture of what is actually in these foods.

CLICK HERE.

All About Supplements

Found this great article about the sensible approach to taking nutrition supplements.  There are a variety of ways to meet your vitamin and mineral needs.  Consider the pros and cons to find out the best combination for you.

FOODS:

Pros: Sources of other nutrients and energy; can supply phytochemcials, antioxidants, and fiber; delicious and satisfying.

Cons: Need to shop and prepare; need to plan for in diet.

FORTIFIED FOODS:

Pros: Easy to obtain a specific nutrient; can be delicious and satisfying

Cons: Often more expensive than regular variety; risk of over-consumption of nutrients; can displace more nutrient-dense foods.

SUPPLEMENTS:

Pros: Easy to obtain; no planning or preparation involved.

Cons: Can be expensive; risk of over consumption of nutrients; lack of antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber found naturally in foods; not satisfying

BEST BET: (in my opinion): REAL FOODS; you cannot buy health in a bottle. Nutrients work together in a synergistic way; pills  cannot provide that advantage.

CLICK HERE.

Fruit Flies and Organic Food?

organic Heirloom tomatoes at Slow Food Nation’s garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love this article and the simple experiments done by this great kid in middle school.  This is certainly not the last word on the ongoing controversy about the health differences of organic food vs conventionally-grown food, but her results are certainly  intriguing.  I know the methodology of  this study will be criticized but for now, on my next shopping trip, I am more likely to reach for the organic version, just in case she may be right.  I know about the Stanford meta-analysis study  that states there are no nutritional differences between organic vs. non-organic and will more than likely invalidate her conclusion, but it was fun and refreshing to read about this young girl and her interest in science.

CLICK HERE.

Here is the study.

Here is the skeptical side.

Positive Food Trends?

These food trends for this year appear to be on the positive side.  Maybe we are beginning to change our food attitudes and become more aware of better choices?  If consumers demand changes, food companies soon respond!

CLICK HERE.

Whole Grain But What Else?

Isn’t it odd that just because a food product can put the words “whole grain” on its label, that we should assume that it is healthy?  Here is a prefect example with  Kellogg’s NutrGrain Bars that blasts that assumption out the window.  Be sure and click on the links for the details of the label (ingredients) especially.

CLICK HERE.